The Price of Love
by MangaAnimeLover
Summary: Sometimes, the least expected happenings can turn out to be the most important twists in your life. Sakura finds this to be true when suddenly Itachi is brought to Konoha Hospital, deadly injured and in need of her help. This is how it all begins…
1. Chapter 1

**Please read all of this before continuing!**

Story title: The Price of Love

Main characters/pairing: Sakura + Itachi. Might contain some Deidara + Sakura in later chapters.

Summary: _Sometimes, the least expected happenings can turn out to be the most important twists in your life. Sakura finds this to be true when Itachi is suddenly brought to Konoha Hospital, deadly injured and in need of her help. This is how it all begins…_

Rating: Rated M for later chapters. Read if you feel that you are mature enough. You have been warned.

Contains: Violence, blood, sexual scenes, cursing, bad language, etc.

Copyrights: I do not own Naruto or its characters. These belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I only own this fanfics and its plot.

Reviews: As a busy author and artist I love comments and reviews. They make me feel that what I do is not useless. Comments usually make me work faster, too. So I would be happy if you commented! ^^

Fanart and illustrations: I will be making some illustrations to this story. You can find a link to my online gallery on my profile (it links you to deviantART). So please go there to see illustrations. If you happen to be interested in making a fan illustration, I would love you! I cannot imagine something that would make me happier. Just remember to tell me through a review or a comment on deviantART. Thanks! :3

Please enjoy!

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**Chapter 1: Blame**

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Haruno Sakura was not a girl who believed in fairytales anymore. Surely, she once had, but as she had grown older she had come to understand the differences between her own life and the life from the dreams of a young girl.

But had anybody told her what she would be doing later that exact day, she would undoubtedly have labeled it pure fiction; a fairytale-ish story brought to life by someone who had lost their insanity, whether that person was God or Fate or just herself.

But there she was, leaning in over one unfairly handsome, shirtless serial-killer. Her hands, which were placed on to his muscular abdomen, were shaking. Anxiety or rage or just pure fear; the reason was unknown to her. But they were shaking vigorously, and she hoped that he would not notice it, even though she would bet everything that it already was too late hoping. He was no man to be fooled.

The silence between them was unnerving to Sakura. She could hear her quickening pulse rush past her ears, could hear the rain cascading aggressively down upon the rocky landscape just outside, and she could hear her own erratic breathing and the calm and steady breathing from the man before – no, _under_ – her.

Matching the movements of his chest and abdomen, and the sound of him, she could feel how his breath caressed her skin every now and then, sending constant waves of goose bumps all over her skin.

She felt the urge to stop the flow of chakra and refuse to continue, but such action would merely hasten her death. She was sure that this was what he would do to her afterwards; to kill her. Why on Earth should he want to spare her petty life?

Perhaps these thoughts were the reason why she was shaking. And knowing the criminal quite well, this was one fairly good reason to be afraid.

And she only had one person to blame for all of this.

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Sunday morning watches always were so boring. Nobody seemed to bother getting hurt or going to the hospital just this one day, and just like an infinite amount of previous Sundays, Sakura found herself sitting passively behind a desk, waiting for something to happen.

She had been sitting there for hours, staring at the cup of coffee placed before her. She was sure she could identify its every dent and missing chip by now.

Hesitating, like in trance, she grabbed the handle and lifted the cup to let her lips rest on the edge, deciding whether or not to take a sip. She knew that the coffee was cold now. And she hated cold coffee. But she seriously needed something to do. So she took a sip, a small one, and regretted it immediately. It tasted at least as gross as she remembered.

Is if testing her own patience, she put the cup down slowly, trying to be as discrete and soundless as possible. The sound of the cup touching the table barely was audibly.

"Sakura! Get ready to operate – this is utmost urgent!" the kunoichi heard the Hokage shout in her direction as she rushed past. Quickly – perhaps a bit too quickly – Sakura stood up from the chair in one swift movement, knocking the cup over and receiving a slight dizziness in the process.

Ignoring the spilled coffee, she hastily strode along the hallway, through which her mentor had just whizzed, and noticed how a great number of doctors, nurses and medical ninjas also were following the Hokage. Now, her curiosity was playing in the back of her mind. It was a blessing from the Gods that something finally was happening, but _this big_… It was almost unbelievable.

Sakura headed toward the room which everybody seemed to be aiming for, and once she entered she was taken aback by the rare sight of several ANBU members lined up along one of the walls.

Once all the needed medics had entered and the door was shut, Sakura dared nearing the patient – and gasped loudly when she instantly recognized the face.

Uchiha Itachi.

This _was_ unbelievable!

The Akatsuki member was severely hurt, probably on the verge to die, and blood covered most of his face and body. For a moment, Sakura forgot the routine, forgot everything, and all she could do was to stand there and gaze wide-eyed at the Uchiha.

_Who… Why…? How…?_

"Sakura, help them take off his shirt and heal the bigger wounds," instructed Tsunade, pushing Sakura back into the stream of work.

She mentally shook her head and put on some surgery gloves. Then, forcing her usual self back in the depths of her consciousness, thus bringing forth the total mentality of a medic, she took a knife and began cutting Itachi's shirt open, ignoring the fact that she was stripping one incredibly handsome, yet very dangerous Akatsuki member. His cloak was hanging loosely from his arms and was cropped together beneath him. But nobody cared to take it off him, because his arms seemed more or less okay, and the cloak only seemed to cover his arms. Only his stomach and nearby areas seemed fatally hurt. Plus his eyes. It was easy to see that they had been bleeding.

Sakura wondered if his eyes were hurt to the extent of making him completely blind. If so, he would no longer turn out to be as big a threat as he used to be. Without his deadly Sharingan he was just one incredibly skilled ninja, and those roamed all over the land of Fire. Heck, even _she_ might then be able to beat him in a fight.

It took some time to rinse all the wounds on his midsection. Many of them were pretty deep and would kill him in a matter of hours if he was not healed. Which led Sakura's thoughts forth again, making her wonder. She wanted an answer.

"Tsunade-shisou, why are we saving his life? Is he not an enemy?" she asked, peeling off the gloves so that she could finally let her chakra move freely. And so, she began healing him.

Tsunade, standing a bit away and observing everything very thoroughly, sighed.

"It seems that he and Sasuke have been fighting sometime today. I have no idea why Sasuke left him barely alive, but nonetheless, an ANBU squad found him. Maybe we can get some good information when he is awake and able to talk. Perhaps we can even get to know where Sasuke is. I am sure Itachi knows at least _something_."

Getting the plan, Sakura nodded, even though her mind continuously told her that Uchiha Itachi was a man too dangerous just to capture and interrogate – especially if his Sharingan still was functional.

It took hours to heal him. Healing his damaged organs, mending every broken or scattered bone, patching up every nerve, tendon and muscle, and finally smoothing out his flesh and skin required incredibly much patience, concentration and chakra. The kunoichi noticed how her chakra level was falling drastically, noticed how several doctors and medical ninjas had been replaced during the process, and how many who yet had to be replaced. The young woman at her side also was slinging a bit back and forth, seemingly not feeling well.

Luckily, most of the missing ninja's wounds had been healed more or less, though none had dared to fix his eyes yet, and for good reason. When he would awaken, why then heighten the possibility of him killing them all? And judged by his state, he would probably wake up during the next couple of hours. By then, they had to get him tied up.

Breaking the silence that had arisen around the operating table, Tsunade placed a hand on the shoulder of the woman beside Sakura with a slight smile on her lips.

"Kagura, go outside and get some fresh air. You do not look too well. I will let Izuna take over in your place." Wordlessly, the woman nodded and left the room. Some silent seconds passed, and a slight frown crossed the Hokage's face.

"Sakura, could you please go out and check up on Kagura? I am a bit concerned about her…"

"Yes, Tsunade-shisou," answered the confused kunoichi. Why did the Hokage want her to leave her work when she still was the best healer around the table despite her lack of chakra? Was Kagura sick or something?

Unquestioning, Sakura followed through the door and spotted Kagura not too far away from the operating room. She quickened her pace to match the pace of the other woman, who seemingly had yet to notice the kunoichi.

Kagura was heading for the roof, apparently, since she followed along the hallway and turned at the corner to the stairs. This made Sakura wonder. It was a common rule among the nurses that only smokers went to the roof, and it was only allowed to smoke in the official breaks. If Kagura needed fresh air then why did she not just go out through the front door which was closer to the operating room anyway? And why had she not answered Tsunade when being dismissed? This was also a common rule, due to respect. Perhaps she was just so ill that she could not think straight. But nonetheless, it irked Sakura's paranoid consciousness, so she sneaked behind her.

Swaying a bit, Kagura hastily climbed the stairs and proceeded through the door which led to the roof. She never noticed Sakura, who followed behind her the moment the doors were closed.

Climbing the stairs as well, the kunoichi finally reached the top and opened the door as silent as possible.

For the second time that day, Sakura found herself gasping loudly, jaw hanging and her mouth and eyes wide open.

In front of her, on the middle of the roof, sat Itachi, crouching in pain and with his arms wrapped around his stomach. He had trouble breathing. However, the moment he noticed Sakura, he was behind her, no hesitation at all. The girl barely had time to react. His hands, shivering a bit, held her neck tightly, ready to snap it and lead her to an instant death.

She stopped breathing.

Beneath them, in the hallway, sounded panicky voices. The Hokage's voice rung throughout the hall, demanding people to find the escaped captive. Sakura figured what had happened. Some sort of a body switch jutsu. Had she been less frightened, she would have admired his ability to perform such a technique without anybody noticing before it was too late. But her thoughts were elsewhere; rather, they were nonexistent that exact moment. Everything stood still for her eyes, and all she could feel were Itachi's hands around her neck, ready to kill her, and her blood rushing to her head, making her dizzy.

Then, without any warning, everything darkened before her eyes, and her limp body fell to the floor.

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"Wake up, girl."

_Ouch…_

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly by the pain.

_Ouch!_

Groaning in discomfort, the kunoichi opened her eyes and sat up. Her head was throbbing painfully, and she instinctively let her hands cling to it, groaning again.

It had become almost dark outside, providing no light around her whatsoever. In addition, she felt like she was sitting inside something, even though it was cold around her. The ground was rough beneath her bare legs.

It took her some moments to regain total sight.

Then she remembered everything. The hospital. Itachi. The jutsu. Perhaps it was because of the pair of Sharingan watching her closely, intensely, that she remembered. They followed her every movement.

Sitting across the… room?... was the Uchiha prodigy, stoic and observing. And bare-chested. And glistening wet. He was leaning back against the wall, his Akatsuki cloak open and his shirt now nonexistent.

Suddenly, he stood up. Judging by his movements, Sakura figured that it hurt when he moved too much. He stopped in front of her, his eyes never leaving hers in the process.

"I want you to heal me," he said darkly. For some reason, Sakura was taken aback by his words, reason beyond her.

She merely glanced up at him.

"What makes you think that I will comply?" Had he expected that she would just accept and help him? Even though she had done it before, the circumstances had been different. Now, he was no longer under the care of the Hokage. Helping him now was a crime toward her beliefs and village.

Moving with a speed that Sakura had not expected him to be able to mobilize in his current state, the missing ninja quickly grabbed her chin tightly, forcing her face closer. Their eyes met again; jade against crimson. She witnessed how his pupil expanded and took form as something that could frighten even the strongest ninja. The Tsukuyomi.

Sakura swallowed the lump that had begun forming in her throat.

"Do I need to convince you?" replied the man coolly. Instinctually, Sakura reached for her right thigh and thus was reminded that she was still wearing her hospital coat. Swearing inwardly, she concluded that attacking him was futile. It was a question about seconds before he could trap her in Oblivion. She had to talk herself out of the danger.

"If you were to use Tsukuyomi on me I would be in no shape to heal you at all."

She remembered how Kakashi had been in the hospital for more than a week after being trapped in the Tsukuyomi. She definitely did not want to end there. However, it was only a matter of seconds before her world turned red, black and white anyway.

She found the tip of a katana resting on her collar bone, puncturing her skin lightly thus bringing forth a tiny trail of blood. It stained her white uniform. But this was her smallest problem that moment.

The Uchiha stared emotionlessly at her, slowly letting the sharp blades slide down, merely ripping her clothes, until it stopped. Then, in one quick, swift movement, the katana pierced through her stomach. She cried out in pain, her voice being all husky and hoarse. Pain. Pain everywhere. It was like an infection, spreading its burning throbbing all over her body and threatening her to suck out all life force and let her die.

Suddenly, her world returned again, real colours and lots of rocks surrounding her. She clutched her throat. Why was it so difficult to breathe all of a sudden?

"That was one stab. Your sensei underwent thousands of stabs. I could let you undergo the same treatment if you do not agree to heal me right here and now."

She then clutched to her stomach and was relieved to see no blood whatsoever.

_Right. The Tsukuyomi merely is an illusion. Only the pain and mental state remain once the jutsu is released…_

She whimpered as she raised her narrowed gaze to look at him, her teeth gritted and jaw tightened in pain.

"I," she breathed, "I win never heal you."

The girl was annoyingly stubborn, the Uchiha mused and decided that there was no other option. Once again, he let his eyes take the form of Tsukuyomi, and the kunoichi found herself frightened again, trying to back away but was trapped between the killer and a wall.

"Okay, fine, I will do it!" she then said, her voice dripping with fear and hatred, "But I do not have much chakra left. My help is limited."

Wordlessly, Itachi took off his cloak and used it as a mattress as he lay down on the floor. Sakura hesitated before she leaned in over him and placed her hands on his midsection. She noticed how he had reopened some of his wounds when travelling. She guessed that he had had troubles carrying her to… Where were they anyway?

She took a moment to look around. They were in some sort of a cave. When she looked left she could see outside. No sooner than now did she realize that it was raining outside. Even though she could not really see the raindrops she had no trouble hearing them. They pattered against the cave and ground outside, sending waves of cold in through the cave entrance. She shivered. She was only wearing her hospital coat; a plain white dress reaching the middle of her thighs. All of a sudden, she felt great discomfort. Itachi was only wearing a pair of pants. She was only wearing a short dress. They were alone out in nowhere. And he was a reckless killer and criminal, merely doing what he felt benefitted him.

"You are hesitating," stated Itachi monotonously, his gaze firmly fixed on her. The air was caught in her lungs. Silently, she summoned the chakra to her hands and focused on once again mending his wounds. Had he been someone else, she would have lectured him to be careful not to move too much just after being healed. But she supposed that she, who merely was a silly little kunoichi in his eyes, was in no position of telling him what to do and what not to do.

She noticed how his insides were more messed up than she had expected. But of course, he had been running with an unconscious woman over his shoulder, probably pushing himself as much as possible in order not to get caught by the horde of Konoha ninjas who might have been chasing him, thus straining himself far too much.

She shuddered. If they found them, found _her_ healing a criminal without orders from the Hokage, she would be thrown into prison. If she had not already been killed by that time, that is.

Sakura cursed inwardly. Why was she easy to manipulate with? Why was she, an adult kunoichi, said to be one of the strongest female ninjas in the whole Fire Country, so afraid of pain that even the smallest wound could persuade her to do crimes and betray everything she believed in? She was swimming in a deep sea of misfortunes now. She was not even sure that she would make it away alive. And if she did, would she be imprisoned?

It was all her fault. She should never have chased Kagura – or rather, Itachi – in the hospital hallway. She should never have gone to the roof with him. And she should have stayed loyal to her village and kept on refusing helping Itachi now that he was on the loose again. Now, he would probably kill her once she ran out of chakra and was of no help to him anymore. And then she would die, disgraceful, a traitor and in no state of defending herself. _Weak_. She would die weak. The word she hated the most. Weakness. That exact moment she felt like the resemblance of weakness itself. Like the old days…

Biting back tears, she continued healing him, trying not to notice his unnerving stare plastered to her, reading her, anticipating if she would attack or run away.

The only thing she could feel was fear. And exhaustion, chakra drainage, pain. And how her death seemed closer than ever before.

Surely, Sakura only had herself to blame for all of this.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter… ^_^

So, what do you think about the story? Something you did not understand?

Love~

Louise


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Bargain or Compulsion?**

Sakura really did not know if she was awake or still unconscious; if she was dead or alive. Everything around her was completely dark as if a black blanket was wrapped around her, blinding her. But she concluded herself awake and somewhat alive when she got really dizzy and thus whimpered in displeasure.

She was lying down on something hard and figured that she would remain like that since she was completely tied up on hands, arms, ankles, and legs. Struggling or trying to move was definitely futile. Besides, she doubted that she even would be able to sit up if she got the opportunity. She felt so weak; both mentally and physically. There was no trace of chakra left in her body.

"You are probably wondering why you are still alive," sounded a growling deep male voice from somewhere in the darkness, "Itachi could easily have killed you off, but he decided to bring you along for reasons only he is aware of." Sakura was shocked to know that she was not alone, though she should have expected it. It took her some seconds to locate the stranger.

"He told me not to kill you while he is gone. It is a shame, though, because I would love to break that petite body of yours, Kunoichi." Then he cackled maliciously. A shiver traveled all the way along her spine.

Sakura remained silent. Analyzing the man's words, she figured that Itachi had decided to let her live despite all her expectations. So he had brought her with him to somewhere where she currently was sitting. Then he had left for some reason, and thus she was being guarded by… Itachi's partner?

The questions were then: Why had he let her live? Where was she? And how could she escape?

She felt a strong urge to sigh, but suppressed it.

_How did I end up like this?_

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_Perhaps she was tired. Perhaps she was just completely out of chakra. Perhaps her subconsciousness had finally taken over her and stopped her from betraying her village more than she already had. Whatever reason behind, it came to the point where her body refused to let out more chakra, and everything swirled before her eyes as she collapsed to the rocky ground._

_It was now. It was now that he would kill her. Her mind warned her continuously, but she seemed completely unable to defend herself. Not even when the Uchiha sat up and hastily grabbed her throat, pressing uncomfortably, did she react._

_She had lost all hope, and so she refused to believe it when Itachi seemed to stiffen and she suddenly felt chakra somewhere too. It could not be the ANBU, for no ninja of such caliber would let their chakra remain unmasked on missions. It could be a couple of forgetful chuunins or a genin team. But nonetheless, they could be her savior if they noticed her. There probably was a jounin with them. _

_She just had to scream._

_But she never came that far, for Itachi seemed to get her trail of thoughts and took immediate action._

_Once again, everything turned black before Sakura's eyes._

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Her consciousness was torn away from its gratefully granted sleep when someone entered the room and let a broad ray of light enter. Through her narrowed eyes she could catch a glimpse of a dark silhouette standing in the doorway. The person undoubtedly was watching her, as if assessing her state or considering something regarding her.

She tried to sit up but failed miserably. No matter how long time she had been sleeping her chakra had not returned at all. She presumed that she had not been asleep for long, or that perhaps someone had drugged her in order to keep her from regaining strength.

"Kisame, lead her to the dining hall. I wish to speak to her," said the silhouette and left, and Sakura heard fabric rustling where the mentioned man was sitting. She could not see him, for she was blinded by the light, but she heard him easily as he went to her side and began untying her. He was rough with her, and more than once did she bite her lip to suppress a whimper.

When he had removed all rope from her, he stood up and headed for the door.

"Get up, girl," he demanded. But Sakura was too weak to get up. She felt as if someone had beaten her up. Staring coolly at her first few attempts at getting up on her own, the man sighed, grabbed her upper arm surprisingly roughly and began dragging her out of the room. Her feet barely managed to keep up with his speed, and her legs threatened to give up under her weigh more than once.

The man was enormously tall and had grayish blue skin and small, piercing eyes. She knew him. She recalled seeing him before but could not pinpoint exactly when or where or why. But it did not really matter now, did it?

The hallway, through which he was leading her, was sharply lit by lamps along the walls. They blinded her more or less, so she really could not see much. Not even where they were going. And so it came to the point where Sakura tripped over her own feet and would have fallen to the ground if the man by her side had not had a strong grasp around her arm.

The kunoichi was shocked into total silence when he then suddenly grabbed her and swung her over his shoulder, quickly and roughly. And then he continued down the hallway, impassive and silent like her.

"What are you doing, Kisame?" asked the Uchiha once they entered the dining hall. Kisame, clearing his throat, put Sakura down.

"I was merely carrying her. She is unable to walk," defended the shark man and pushed Sakura toward a chair. She was relieved to see the room being dimly lit so that she would not be blinded anymore.

As she was pushed, she was about to trip again, but somehow she regained foothold and sat down on the chair she supposed she was meant to use. In the so-called dining hall was a very long table surrounded by a lot of chairs. Itachi was sitting in the far end of the table, and Sakura sat in the other.

"You drained too much of her chakra," stated the black-haired ninja monotonously, eyes coolly observing the small frame opposite of him.

Bowing as an apology, Kisame left the room and closed the door.

_Well, that explains a few things,_ Sakura thought unsurprised.

Silence fell over the two ninjas. Sakura found it uncomfortable. Not only was she helpless in the presence of the most infamous serial killer in the whole ninja world, she did not even know what he wanted with her. Surely, he did not expect that she would give him hints about Naruto's location, did he?

"Haruno Sakura," he said, receiving her entire attention, "You have two choices."

_An ultimatum?_ her mind questioned.

"By the orders of our leader, you have been granted permission to join the Akatsuki under certain circumstances. You can choose to accept his offer and live. Or you can choose to decline it and face death. The choice is yours."

Sakura's eyes widened by his words, her breath bated and her words caught in her throat.

_What…?_ she asked herself, _No… I cannot do that. I cannot join._

Finally, her mind seemed to be back on the good road again.

"I will rather die than join an organization with the goal of killing my best friend," she said firmly after a long moment of hesitation.

"I see," Itachi responded stoically and showed up behind her, having moved faster than her mind could comprehend, "Then perhaps Pein himself can convince you."

Yet again, Sakura faced temporary darkness.

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Sakura hated their way of knocking her unconscious. But waking her up again seemingly varied from situation to situation. This time a bucketful of icy cold water was poured down on her, brutally ripping her away from her slumber. Had the culprit been another man, Sakura would have shredded him to pieces by pure infuriation. But this was Kisame, and she still was out of chakra. And she found herself tied up yet again.

All this was really getting on her nerves. She could feel how the water travelled down her body, soaking her hospital coat. The tips of her hair dripped vigorously.

When she opened her eyes she was surprised to find herself in another unknown place. This time she was in a huge, empty room, the only pieces of furniture being a long table with one stool at each end. Opposite of her sat a man with orange hair. His face was pierced like a pincushion. She had never seen him before.

_Does the Akatsuki have a craze for this kind of setting while having important meetings?_ Sakura asked herself, not sure if she should find it amusing or be afraid of her situation.

Kisame and Itachi, who both had been standing behind her, were told to leave. The man had a surprisingly deep voice knowing that he looked quite slender and not too tall.

"I take it that you have declined my offer. Am I correct, Miss Haruno Sakura?" So this was Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki, Sakura figured. He did not seem as scary as she had imagined him.

Ignoring his question, she sent him a stare that was more suspicious than frightened.

"For what purpose do you need me? I am not far as strong as any of you," replied the girl. Pein's lips tugged into a slight smile.

"Did you not kill Sasori?" questioned the man back.

"… Yes…"

"Have you not been trained by the Hokage herself and been told that you will surpass her one day?"

Okay, she got where he was leading her.

"Yes, I have," she responded and sighed, "But why does this make me capable of becoming an Akatsuki member and thus betraying my village?"

"I was merely proving you wrong in your last statement," he said as his smile faded, "But about you joining the Akatsuki is an entirely other matter. First of all, we need a medical ninja since your friends killed off our last one. Secondly, you have witnessed Itachi's escape. You know too much so we cannot let you go alive. And lastly, you might posses some knowledge that we can make great use of." _Like the exact location of the Kyuubi._ The words could easily be read between the lines.

If Sakura had been able to, she would have stood up immediately, slamming her fists into the table while shouting. But ropes prevented her from doing so.

"I refuse to help you kill Naruto," she said sternly, "So I refuse to join you."

"Is that so? Perhaps you would change your mind if I told you that I am having scouts in Konoha right now, ready to kill on my command. Your parents, for instance. Or your friends."

Sakura felt her temper boiling.

"And how can you prove to me that you are not lying!" For a moment, she thought that she saw a victorious expression on Pein's rather impassive face.

"Zetsu," he then said, and Sakura found herself gaping slightly when someone came up from the stone floor, wrapped in plants and skin being parted in white and black. The Akatsuki literally consisted of freaks!

"Haruno Atsuko and Haruno Kyou," Pein said. Sakura was afraid now. He knew the names of her parents. She was more frightened when Zetsu recited their address.

"Yamanaka Ino. Hyuuga Hinata. Nara Shikamaru…" No matter which name was said, Zetsu told them their exact address. Tears started welling up in the kunoichi's eyes. Pein was not lying.

_Perhaps,_ she thought, _Perhaps, if I join, I can stop them from hurting Naruto. Perhaps I can spoil some of their missions. Perhaps I can get to know some of them so that I can kill them or report back to Tsunade-shisou about their weaknesses. Perhaps I can escape someday…_

"Fine," she said, "But do not touch my friends or else I will kill you." Even though she knew that she could not kill him, and even though she knew that he knew that she could not kill him, she would give it a try if her friends were harmed.

"Very well," said the man and stood up, "Welcome to the Akatsuki. You will receive your things later. You can go now."

The doors opened and in came Itachi and Kisame. Sakura bit back her tears. She did not want them to see her crying.

Much to her surprise, Kisame started untying her. Itachi did nothing, but Sakura noticed a glance between him and Pein and figured that Itachi was the one suggesting her membership. If she ever became strong enough to kill any of them, Itachi would be the first one to meet Hell.

It was a lovely feeling to get rid of the ropes, but even so, Sakura sadly had to admit that she still could not move too much. Whatever Kisame had done to her it sure had worked well, and she doubted that she would regain strength before the next day. Knowing this, Kisame swung the girl over his shoulder once again, ignoring that she still was soaked, and left the room with Itachi by his side.

Before the doors were closed, Pein said:

"Try and escape, Sakura, and you will wish that you were never born."

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Thank you for reading! :3

I would like to know… Do you think my chapters are too short? Too boring? Any unrealistic elements, common grammatical errors, OOC-ness…? Because I want to make this story as perfect as possible, and I need your help to do so.

Love~

Louise


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